It triggered a memory for Georgia. ‘Oh yeah, at your wedding he said that wasn’t the reason you hit him that day.’
‘Of course, it wasn’t,’ Marcus said. ‘I thought you always knew why I hit him.’
‘No.’
‘He said you were hot and that he was going to ask you out . . . so obviously, I hit him.’
‘Marcus! What the hell? Why would you hit him for that?’
‘Because I was a moronic, immature sixteen-year-old, and I didn’t want my best mate to date my little sister. Sorry, but you didn’t actually want him to ask you out, did you?’
‘Jesus Christ, Marcus, I don’t know! Maybe.’
‘Shit. I’ll fix it.’
Grant phoned her within the hour and they chatted for a good twenty minutes before there was a pause in the conversation and he took a deep breath and asked her out.
Georgia hesitated before responding. ‘I want to say yes,’ she said. ‘A big part of me wants that. But at the same time . . . I know I’m not ready. I need some more time. Listen, though, if you’ve waited this long to ask, do you think you could do me a favour?’
‘Anything,’ he said.
‘Ask me again in a couple of months.’
‘Deal.’
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My heartfelt gratitude goes out to the following people (diplomatically ordered alphabetically): Susan Badman, Dianne Blacklock, Sheila Crowley, Kati Harrington, Katherine Hassett, Maxine Hitchcock, Kerry Lockwood, Brooke Macdonald, Pippa Masson, Matilda McDonald, Steve Menasse, Bernie Moriarty, Diane Moriarty, Jaclyn Moriarty, Liane Moriarty, Fiona Ostric, Allyson Prowse, Stacy Testa, Sabeeha Toynton, Anna Valdinger, Tess Woods, Belinda Yuille and Kristen Zullo. I’d also like to thank all of the other wonderful people at Curtis Brown, HarperCollins Australia and Michael Joseph UK along with the kind and generous staff at Mini Espresso Bar and Youeni. Every one of you helped to make this book possible — whether it was providing coffee, feedback, support, advice, invaluable edits or answering medical questions. Thank you.
THE FIFTH LETTER
by Nicola Moriarty
Joni, Trina, Deb and Eden. Best friends since the first day of school. Best friends, they liked to say, forever. But now they are in their thirties and real life — husbands, children, work — has got in the way. So, on their annual trip away, Joni has an idea, something to help them reconnect.
Each woman will write an anonymous letter, sharing the things that are really going on in their lives.
As the confessions come tumbling out, Joni starts to feel the certainty of their decades-long friendships slip from her fingers. Then she finds a fifth letter, one containing a secret so big that its writer had tried to destroy it. And now Joni is starting to wonder, did she ever really know her friends at all?
‘Dramatic, mysterious and compelling . . . it’s easy to read this book in one sitting’ Vogue
Available in paperback, ebook and audio
THOSE OTHER WOMEN
by Nicola Moriarty
Poppy’s world has tipped sideways: the husband who never wanted children has betrayed her with her broody best friend.
At least Annalise is on her side. Poppy’s new friend is determined to celebrate their freedom from kids, so together they create a Facebook group to meet up with like-minded women — and vent just a little about smug mums and their privileges at work.
Meanwhile, Frankie would love a night out, away from her darlings — she’s not had one in years — and she’s sick of being judged by women at the office and stay-at-home mums.
When Poppy and Annalise’s group takes off, frustrated members start confronting mums like Frankie in the real world. Cafes become battlegrounds, playgrounds become warzones, and offices have never been so divided.
A rivalry that was once harmless fun is spiralling out of control. Because one of their members is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. And she has an agenda of her own . . .
‘I devoured it, loved it and totally escaped into it . . . Fun and topical’ Marian Keyes
Available in paperback, ebook and audio
About the Author
NICOLA MORIARTY is a Sydney-based novelist, copywriter and mum to two small (but remarkably strong-willed) daughters. In between various career changes, becoming a mum and completing her Bachelor of Arts, she began to write. Now she can’t seem to stop. Her previous works include the bestselling novels The Fifth Letter and Those Other Women.
nicolamoriarty.com.au
facebook.com/NicolaMoriartyAuthor
@NikkiM3 (Twitter)
@nicmoriarty (Instagram)
Praise for The Fifth Letter
‘Dramatic, mysterious and compelling . . . it’s easy to read this book in one sitting’ Vogue
‘Younger sister Nicola gives novelists Liane and Jaclyn Moriarty a serious run for the literary awards in this pacey, circle-of-friends thriller, which accelerates in its intensity and sheer originality with every page . . . An Agatha Christie Mousetrap of a “who-wrote-it?” to solve’ Australian Women’s Weekly
‘a delightful romp of a novel that will have you laughing on one page, crying at the next’ Better Reading
‘Readers . . . will race to the end as a credit to Nicola’s fine sense of pacing and suspense. An author to watch’ Booklist
‘A delightful, heartwarming exploration of the twists and turns of true friendship, The Fifth Letter was simply delicious from the very first page to the last . . . Relatable characters, a fast-moving plot and just the right amount of mystery. I was hooked!’ Rachael Johns, internationally bestselling author
‘A brilliant and compelling novel where a twenty-year-old friendship is tested by the secrets they have been keeping. The plot is fascinating . . . the author creates suspense and anticipation as truths — and lies — are spilled page after page’ Chicklit Club
‘Once you start you’re not going to want to stop. Page turner indeed. Wow’ Sharpest Pencil
Praise for Those Other Women
‘This novel shows the same sharp eye for neat plotting that Nicola Moriarty revealed in The Fifth Letter . . . Moriarty is fair-minded about this conflict, often manages to be funny about it, and deftly employs the features and uses of Facebook to kick along the plot’ Sydney Morning Herald
‘A firecracker of a novel’ Liane Moriarty
‘Nicola Moriarty instinctively knows what we want to read and gives it to us on a platter — juicy, topical, honestly raw and full of twists and turns that we never see coming, Those Other Women does everything right’ Tess Woods, author of Love at First Flight
‘Moriarty trains a spotlight on the pitfalls of social media and how quickly rumour is presented as fact’ Courier Mail
‘I devoured it, loved it and totally escaped into it . . . Fun and topical’ Marian Keyes
‘A darkly droll page-turner . . . a tasty divertissement’ Publishers Weekly
Copyright
HarperCollinsPublishers
First published in Australia in 2019
by HarperCollinsPublishers Australia Pty Limited
ABN 36 009 913 517
harpercollins.com.au
Copyright © She Writes Words Pty Ltd 2019
The right of Nicola Moriarty to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her under the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000.
This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced, copied, scanned, stored in a retrieval system, recorded, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
HarperCollinsPublishers
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive, Rosedale 0632, Auckland, New Zealand
A 75, Sector 57, Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201 301, India
1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF, United Kingdom
Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower, 22 Adelaide Street West, 41st Floor, Toro
nto, Ontario, M5H 4E3, Canada
195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007, USA
ISBN 978 1 4607 5663 8 (paperback)
ISBN 978 1 4607 1052 4 (ebook)
ISBN 978 1 4607 9069 4 (audio book)
A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Library of Australia
Cover design by Hazel Lam, HarperCollins Design Studio
Cover images: Brunette woman by Marija Savic / stocksy.com / 1654898; redheaded woman by Danil Nevsky / stocksy.com / 797901; all other images by shutterstock.com
Ex, The Page 29
